


I Think We Have Been Here Before

by themoonandotherslikeit



Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU, Angst, DeanxSam, F/M, Future, M/M, Soulmates, otp, soulamtes!AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-26
Updated: 2019-03-26
Packaged: 2019-12-18 11:15:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18248717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themoonandotherslikeit/pseuds/themoonandotherslikeit
Summary: Two college grad students meet, and find out that they’ve been having the same dreams about a pair of brothers in an old Impala. After trying to ignore their strange pull they realize that nothing ends, not really, and sometimes you can miss someone that you haven’t met yet.





	I Think We Have Been Here Before

**Becca**

The name Sam echoed in her head at all hours of the day. Becca had these dreams… she was riding in a car. The windows were down. She would turn to the side and see a man, his scruff on his cheeks pristinely shaved, but sometimes the growth came back before he could get to the bathroom. Music played, Metallica, Bon Jovi, AC/DC, and sometimes something a little less expected. Things were easy, but even in her dreams they weren’t always easy. 

Sometimes she would wake up in tears, still feeling his arms wrapped around her, weeping into her neck as blood seeped from her stomach. 

She tried to not think about the dreams. She tried to not think about this person she’s never met. This person that she _misses_ so deeply that it hurts her. 

“Bec, you good?” Her roommate, Asia, asked. 

Becca looked up from the bathroom sink, that was threatening to overflow. She shut off the water and glanced at Asia in the mirror. “I’m fine.” She said weakly. What was she _supposed_ to say? She gripped the cross necklace that hung from her neck that usually gave her peace. Things had been escalating, and she was trying to remember it all. She walked out the front door, grabbing her backpack on her way out. 

She worried that if she told anyone that they’d think she was insane. Maybe she _was_ insane. Her apartment was close to campus, within walking distance. The fall semester had started, and everything was colorful. Guys threw a football in the grass and everyone was studying outside. She scanned the grounds to find a place to park it. 

She jogged to her favorite tree and lowered herself to a seated position. She pulled her notebook out of her bag and clicked her pen a few times before scribbling on the page. 

_All I felt was pain, it was quick, but he was there to catch me. He always was. He cradled me against his chest, like I somehow knew he’d been doing my whole life. He would protect me against all else. I knew he would. “Hey, look at me. It’s not even that bad. It’s not even that bad, all right? Sammy?”_

“Whatcha writing?” 

Becca slowly raised her head to find a guy sitting in the tree above her. What the fuck?

“Uh, nothing.” 

He squinted, and smiled widely. “Yeah, sure looks like nothing.” 

“Do you mind?”

“Do you? I was kind of here first.” He smiled charmingly. “I’m Nate.” 

“Good for you.” Becca said smoothly. 

“And you are?”

“Not interested.” She said, closing her notebook. He would have to wait. 

“Wow, ice queen.” Nate snorted swinging himself out of the tree like a monkey. 

His feet hit the ground right next to where Becca sat and he lowered himself next to her. Her heart rate picked up a bit with him so close. She held the notebook against her chest protectively. 

“Business or pleasure?” He asked, eyeing the notebook.

“I…” _I want to tell him._ “It’s a dream journal.” 

“Ohh, any naughty dreams.” His eyebrows wiggled.

“Gross, no.” She stood up quickly, wiping the dirt and leaves off her jeans. 

“Hey, I’m just kidding.” Nate said, scrambling up to his feet. 

“Well, it’s not funny.” Becca said, crossing her arms tightly across her chest. 

“You looked kind of peaceful writing, studious.” He commented. 

“So you thought you’d shoot that horse in the face?”

His eyes widened, he looked surprised. She smiled at him. His green eyes felt so familiar. They were kind, behind the sarcasm, and flirty front. 

“Well, I should go.” She said, backing up. 

“Class?” He offered. 

“Work, actually.” She said slowly.

“Where do you work?” He asked, his steps keeping up with her stride.

She raised an eyebrow at him. “The bar on 4th.” 

“Bartender?”

“Mhm.”

“Maybe I’ll come by for a drink.” He flashed a white smile, which looked really nice against his tanned skin. 

“Maybe I’ll see you there.” She smirked a bit before turning on her heels. “Bye!”

“Wait!” He called, taken off guard by her quick escape. “What’s your name?”

**Nate**

_I am fucking Looney Tunes._ Nate kept getting flashes of a face. A tall guy with long, shaggy hair. It was weird. It started out as vague dreams, but the longer it went on the more clear they got. They were even coming around in the day. 

He was leaning against the tree, his legs hanging down as he daydreamed, again. 

_He was driving this car, blasting music. “Dude you’re going to be deaf by the time you’re forty.”_

_“Hey, if I live that long I will deal with the repercussions.” Nate said, drumming on the steering wheel. His words weren’t his own._

_The guy next to Nate rolled his eyes and Nate smiled to himself. He didn’t know who the man was, but he knew he was important. Somehow Nate knew that he loved him._

He was pulled out of the memory from the sound of someone settling in at the bottom of the tree below him. She was pretty, her dirty blonde hair was down, flowing freely, and she was scribbling in a notebook. His heart raced just looking at her. _Fuck, am I getting sick?_ He pressed his hand to his chest, trying to ease the pounding that was moving from his chest into his temples. 

She was rude, and standoffish. She wasn’t interested in him, but somehow he found myself walking. She said she worked at the bar on 4th, and before he knew it he was standing in front of the red glowing neon sign. Nate pushed his way in and walked straight to the bar. 

Her back was to him, and he took a second to look her over. To take her in. She had curves to fill out her jeans, but she was obviously fit from the curve of her bicep. She reached up to get to the top shelf, but she was too short. He grinned at the sight. 

“Seriously?” She asked when she finally turned around. She crossed her arms with annoyance. “You actually came.”

“I’ve always wanted to check this place out.” He said casually. 

“I’m sure.” She said with an eye roll. 

He squinted, to read her name tag in the low light of the bar. “Becca, huh?”

“He can read!” She said with fake cheer, causing Nate’s stomach to flip. 

“Yeah… I like to read.” He said, feeling some weird dejavu that he couldn’t quite shake off. 

“Can I get you a beer or are you just going to loiter?” 

“Yeah, sure. Give me a beer.” 

She nodded and grabbed one out of the fridge. She cracked open the top and handed him an El Sol. He raised an eyebrow. “How’d you know this is my favorite?”

She shrugged. “I didn’t.” Her green eyes flickered from his back down to the bar top. She suddenly seemed really interested in a spot on the counter. 

“Is it.. should I have not come?” Nate asked, suddenly self conscious. _Why did I come here? Doesn’t seem like she really wants to see me._

“I… I don’t know.” Becca admitted, leaning forward. “Just not used to guys trying so hard.” She smiled a bit. 

“I’m not used to trying this hard either.” He grinned, making pink rise on her cheeks. “It may sound weird, but I just kind of felt like I had to come here. When I saw you I knew I had to talk to you.” 

“That is kind of weird.” She agreed. Becca went back to washing the counter, and Nate continued to watch her. He hopped up after a few minutes and put some money in the Juke Box. 

_I was a little too tall, could’ve used a few pounds. Tight pants points hardly renown. She was a black haired beauty with big dark eyes…_

Becca looked up, meeting eyes with Nate. 

_“Dean, I can explain what was going on…”_

_“No, no, no. No.” Dean said with a laugh, cranking on the radio._

_“Don’t Night Moves me.” He groaned at his brothers choice of music._

_“Shh. Just let it wash over you.” Dean grinned at him from the side. He’d caught his brother with a half naked girl in the back seat that morning, and he had to give him shit. Of course he did._

_“Let…”_

_“Just take it in.” Dean grinned, mouthing the lyrics._

_I was a little to tall, could’ve used a few pounds. Tight Pants point hardly reknown. She was a black-haired beauty with big dark eyes_

_“This is ridiculous.”_

_“One of the greatest rock writers of all time, Samuel.”_

_“It’s Sam.” He groaned before rolling his eyes and belting, “Out in the back seat of my brother’s ’67 Chevy.”_

_Dean laughed._

_Sam grinned back at him. “Yeah, you started this. You started this.”_

_“Here we go. Come on now.”_

_The two looked at each other with a grin and sang off key, but together. “Workin’ on our night moves…”_

“Everything okay here?” The manager asked, interrupting their moment. Nate shook himself out of the very vivid day dream, just to see Becca’s eyes seemingly glazed over as well.

“Uh, yeah, Mark it’s fine.” She said forcing a smile, but her eyes never left Nate’s. The manager raised an eyebrow, but quickly walked away to deal with some other bar related issue. 

“Sorry,” Becca said, sheepishly. “I guess I kind of… zoned out.” 

“Me too.” Nate said, barely able to articulate. Things felt straight up weird. He couldn’t  place it, but more than anything he knew that he was there in that car. Something told him that so was she. 

 **Becca**  

There was something going on inside of Becca. Saying it out loud would be insane and she knew it, but she was in that car. She was singing, but it wasn’t her voice. _“It’s Sam.”_ Those words came from her own mouth. She reached up and touched her bottom lip, like she had been kissed. _What the hell is going on?_

“Weird.” She offered, avoiding Nate’s eyes, suddenly. He was making her nervous. All of it seemed like too much. Too real. She could feel the road under her as if they had been plucked from the car. _They_. She shook her head. _Nope that’s bat shit crazy. Do you want to be committed?_

She pressed her lips together. “You know, I’m suddenly not feeling very good.” She offered a weak smile. “Beers on the house.” She pulled off her apron and pushed out from behind the bar. She swung open the back door and went into the alleyway, immediately bending over and vomiting. She felt flushed, holding her knees 

“Becca! Wait! Are you.. oh shit.” Nate commented. 

_Great._

“Nothing to see here.” She said, waiving him off dismissively. 

“No need to be a hero.” He grunted, walking to her. He gathered her hair in his hands, letting her vomit, get it all out. “You’re not pregnant are you?” He joked, lamely.

“No.” She snorted, wiping her mouth with the back of her hands. 

“Good.” He said, supporting her by her elbow. “‘Mere.” 

She let him lead her down the alley way, and out to the street. They lowered themselves to a seated position on a bench. “Feelin any better?” Nate asked her gently.

 _No_. “I… yeah. I guess.” 

“Can I ask you something?”

Her eyes flickered up to his. The large, full moon was reflecting in his green iris. “Anything.” She murmured, and somehow she knew that she did mean anything. 

“When you zoned out earlier… did you…. uh. Shit this is going to sound crazy.”

“It’s okay.” She said, sitting up a little straighter. “You can tell me.” 

“Fine.” Nate said, forcing a smile. “Did you, uh, see anything?” 

“Like what?” Becca asked, carefully.

“I sound like a fucking loon.” He complained before letting out a rush of air. “But… I don’t know. Like a car?”

Becca sat up even straighter. “I… yeah. Yeah I think I did.” 

“I know it sounds… wait, really?” Nate turned to look at her intensely. She found she couldn’t focus with his eyes on her like that. She nervously pushed her hair behind her ear. 

“Yeah. The moment the juke box started playing it was like…”

“Like you were transported somewhere else?”

“Yeah.” She said eagerly. “Exactly like that.” 

They searched each others faces for answers. “It’s happened before.” He admitted.

“For me too.” 

“I always see the same guy with me. He’s some… some tall guy, and I don’t know I’m not _me_.” Nate said slowly.

“I think… I think I see that, too. I think they’re brothers.” Becca said gently, not admitting that she felt like she _was_ Sam when she was in these memories. It didn’t make any sense. It wasn’t logical. She was just _herself_ , but there was more to it. Even if she couldn’t admit it to herself, she knew it deep down. 

“Yeah, before I heard them say that… I knew they had some kind of bond. That’s fucking bananas, isn’t it?”

Becca laughed humorlessly. “About fifteen minutes ago I would’ve said yeah, but now… I don’t know. I thought _I_  was going crazy! But if you’re seeing them too…”  

“What do you think this means?” Nate asked quietly. 

“I wish I knew.” Becca said, lacing her fingers with Nate. She didn’t know why she did it. She didn’t know this boy, but there was something about him. Something safe. “Maybe we could go to the library and do some research?”

“To research what?” He laughed, looking down at their combined fingers, beginning to feel calm.

“Just seems like the thing to do.” Becca said quietly. What she didn’t say is that it’s what Sam always did in her dreams. There’s no problem that couldn’t be solved with a book. 

“Alright, fuck it. Let’s go.” Nate said standing up. 

They didn’t release hands as they walked down the road to the library on campus. They only released when they each settled down in a chair. Becca began typing diligently, but Nate couldn’t focus. He couldn’t stop looking at her. She was a stranger, but yet she was so _familiar_. He just couldn’t place it. 

“Get this.” She said, squinting at the screen. “It’s said that soulmates can have the same dreams. That’s crazy isn’t it?” She asked, turning toward him. 

“Maybe not so much.” Nate said, meeting her eyes. He glanced at his own screen, clicking a link. “I… I don’t want to sound any crazier than I already do, but I feel like I know you Bec.” 

“Bec.” She said cooly. “Yeah… I get that too, Nathan.” She eyed him.

“Right. Not on nickname bases yet?”

“I just thought I’d try it out. I don’t really mind.” 

_“Samuel.” “It’s Sam.”_

She pursed her lips. “I don’t think… the big one liked nicknames. I think he felt like he was being demoted somehow.” 

Nate smiled. “Yeah, he liked teasing Sammy, but that’s what brothers do.” 

Becca closed her eyes. _This is too fucking Twilight Zone._

“Hey, you good?”

“What? Oh yeah.” Her eyes flew open, landing on his hand. “I’m good. I’m great.” 

“Sure sellin it.” He chuckled and turned back to his screen. “What do you think about it?”

“About what?”

“The whole soulmate shtick?”

“I think… I think I don’t have any better explanation.” 

Nate stretched his arms above his head, waiting for the satisfying crack, but instead his hands shot straight into the chest of some older guy. “Um, sorry, dude.” 

The brunette man looked tired. He wore an outdated trench coat, with a cheap suit underneath. “It’s fine.” The man smiled. He looked upset. 

“Right, well.” Nate cleared his throat. “Better get back to studying, ya know?”

Becca looked nervous, and reached for his hand. He took it instinctively. 

“I don’t have time for pleasantries.” The man said, lowly. “I need to talk to you both.” 

“No thanks.” Nate said, protectively. “We don’t want whatever you’re selling in that weird ass coat.” 

The man groaned outwardly. “Why must you always comment on the coat?”

“Listen, buddy.” Nate said, rising. “I’ve never met you before. I think you must have me confused…” 

The man reached out his two index fingers on both hands, and pressed them to Becca and Nates foreheads, sending them into a quick, and peaceful sleep. 

 **Both**  

_Sam looked at his brother, his hands in the sudsy water, doing the dishes. “Did you see them at dinner, the way they looked at each other? They just seemed happy, you know? It doesn’t feel fair to get all this and have to throw it away, and I know we have to. But it just feels like, you know… Once we send dad back… it’s none of this ever happened. He just goes back to being dad.”_

_Dean glanced at Sam, as he mindlessly dried a plate. “You saying you wish things would be different?”_

_“Don’t you? Can you imagine dad in the past, knowing then what he knows now? I… I think it would be nice.” Sam said weakly, peeling his eyes away from Deans._

_Dean shrugged. “Yeah. I used to think that, too. But, uh… I mean, look, we’ve been through some tough times. There’s no denying that.”_

_Sam licked his dry lips. “Yeah.”_

_“And for the longest time, I blamed dad. I mean, hell, I blamed mom, too, you know? I was angry. But say we could send dad back knowing everything. Why stop there? Why not send him even further back and let some other poor sons of bitches save the world? But here’s the problem. Who does that make us? Would we be better off? Well, maybe. But I gotta be honest, man. I don’t know who that Dean Winchester is. And I’m good with who I am. I’m good with who you are. ‘Cause our lives, they’re ours. And maybe I’m just too damn old to want to change that.”_

Becca’s eyes opened first, with a flutter. She could still feel the warm water on her hands. She could feel the wounds on her face, the ache in her temple. She could still feel Dean’s gaze as he described their lives. How he described the impossibilities of starting all over. Her heart ached at the idea. The idea that the boys probably died in the grips of each other, doing what they thought was right. Her heart broke knowing that they probably never got a day of rest. That the memory she saw, the ones she’d been seeing, were one of a kind. 

She turned to her side, she was laying next to Nate who was still passed out. She rested her palm on his chest, right above his heart. 

“I’m sorry.” The man from the library said quietly, I just… I recognized you two. I had to talk to you. It isn’t protocol, but seeing that you found each other… it was too tempting.”

Something came over Becca suddenly. 

_“Cas is that really you?” Dean asked, his eyes wide under the light of the night sky._

_Sam shook his head. “No. You’re… you’re dead.” He was desperate. His heart was aching. He wanted to reach out and hug his friend, but he couldn’t, not until he had all the answers._

_“Yeah, I was.” Castiel said carefully. “But then I.. annoyed an ancient cosmic being so much that he sent me back.”_

_“I don’t even know what to say.” Sam said, dumbfounded._

_“I do.” Dean said, rushing Castiel, pulling him into a hug. “Welcome home, Pal.”_

“Castiel.” Becca breathed, before she realized what she was doing.

“You’re having memories?” Cas pressed.

“I… I don’t know what’s going on.” Becca admitted, in tears. “I’m a grad student. I… I don’t believe in all of this..”

“It’s alright.” Cas said gently. “I just…”

“What’s happening?” Becca asked intently. 

Nate groaned next to her. 

“Hey.” She murmured as he started to stir. 

“What the…”  

“I think… I think we know him.” Becca said, eyeing the angel in front of them.

Nate squinted. “Yeah I think you might be right.” He said up all the way, rubbing his head. “So get to talkin, stalker boy.” 

“I’m not a…” Castiel sighed and shook his head. “I recognized your aura. Your souls energy.” He said slowly, eyeing Nate. “I’d recognize you anywhere.”

“Weird.” 

_“Dean and I share a more profound bond.”_

“I’m not sure it is.” Becca said. It was like she turned her dreams on high. She was getting constant flashes. “Castiel.” She said quietly. “What is going on here?”

“It is said that when two souls make a significant imprint on the world, on each other, that in every life they will find each other again. I.. I don’t know why you have left heaven, but I am happy to see that you have found each other again.”

“Heaven..” Becca murmured, her heart breaking. She was right. 

“What is he sayin?” Nate asked, looking irritated. 

“I think… I think he’s saying..” 

“You’ve been reincarnated.” Cas said simply.

Becca swallowed. “So Sam and Dean…” 

“They were a past life of yours. The one where I met you. Where I was your friend.” He turned to Nate. “Your _best_ friend.” 

“Hm.” Nate grunted.

“You wear a different face, Dean.” Cas said with a kind, nostalgic smile. “But you are still the same.” 

“Dean.” Nate said slowly. “Like from the dreams?”

“I don’t think they’re dreams.” Becca said, moving her hand off of Nates leg. “I think they’re memories.” She felt sick. She stood up and began to pace. “So if he’s Dean… then I’m.. oh god.” 

It all rushed over Nate instantly and he stood up too. “Sam.” He breathed. “Of _course_.” 

Becca turned, shaking her head. “Nope. I can’t do this.”

Nate grabbed her hand. “Hey… just.. it’s okay.” They both turned to Castiel.

“Soul mates are complicated.” He said quietly. “You both died countless times, in each other’s arms. That leaves an imprint. In this past life you were siblings, but I’ve never seen anyone connected so strongly.”

Becca busted into tears, Nate supporting her as she lost it. “How did they die… how did we.. Cas…”

“It was a hunt.” Cas said weakly. “It was an accident… it was tragic.” He admitted sadly. “It was a long time ago.” 

Becca gripped Nates shirt, and he wrapped his arms around her. “I’ve got you.” 

She knew he did, because she could see him a thousand times over, holding her in the same way. Holding Sam. She could see his face, bloodied and broken under her fist. 

_“And if we die, we will do that together too.”_

_“I believe in us!”_

_“I’ve looked up to you my whole life.”_

She held her head and just cried. She mourned for the loss of who she used to be. She mourned for Dean. Her eyes fluttered open and she caught those same green eyes full of concern, looking right back at her. _Fuck_. She thought, touching his cheek. “Guess it isn’t our first time around is it?”

“Guess not.” Nate said quietly. 

“I am sorry if this was too much.” Cas said, weakly. “I just saw you and I couldn’t… I couldn’t not.” 

“We understand.” Becca said, regaining her sea legs. She stood up and walked to him, wrapping her arms around him. “Thank you.” She breathed. “I had no idea I could miss someone I never met, but I think I missed you, Cas. I think I missed both of you.” She said releasing her hug, turning to meet Nate’s eyes. They were different than his, but somehow exactly the same. He gave her a cheesy sideways smile, the same that she’d seen a million times before, before she woke up, before the sun touched the horizon. 

“Hey, no chick flick moments.” Nate complained.

Becca smiled a bit, before murmuring. “Jerk.” 

Nate grinned without missing a beat. “Bitch.” 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope y’all enjoyed! I wrote this for Sam Winchester Bingo, and I filled my Soulmates square with it! I’ve always thought. Sam and Dean were soulmates in a non romantic, non sexual kind of way, and I wanted to play with the idea of them meeting again in another life. <3 lmk your thoughts! HMU on tumblr @themoonandotherslikeit if you want to talk :)
> 
> **** I’ve been requested to continue this fic. Would y’all read more if I updated again?? Lmk, and I’ll see what I can come up with ❤️


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